Forecast calls for more media | |
 Maurice Bluestein teaches thermodynamics in the School of Engineering and Technology at IUPUI . |
Professor by day, media darling by night. That was the life of IUPUI’s Maurice Bluestein just a few months ago.
Bluestein teaches thermodynamics in the School of Engineering and Technology—an unlikely source to generate arguably the most extensive media coverage IUPUI has ever received. But that’s what happens when you threaten to shake up the weather world with re search that decries the accuracy of a little thing called “wind chill.” Bluestein contended that the original wind chill chart was flawed, leading to inaccurate readings that were lower than they should have been. First, he said, the chart’s authors assumed that human skin temperature remains constant, when in fact it doesn’t. According to Bluestein, skin temperature changes based on variables like wind, outside temperature and whether or not a person is moving. He also said the researchers measured wind at levels much higher than ground level where humans are exposed to it. Bluestein’s own wind chill chart shows readings as much as 14 degrees higher than the current system. Once his findings were released, “Mr. Freeze,” as he was dubbed by Indianapolis Monthly, began getting calls from radio stations, newspapers and TV networks from Saskatchewan to San Antonio. News organizations like NBC’s Dateline, Associated Press, CNN an d The Weather Channel made their way to campus for an interview. Bluestein’s research appeared in more than 70 different media outlets. And, scientists, weather enthusiasts, even long-lost friends from around the world called and E-mailed support. “The most significant thing for me personally,” said Bluestein, “was getting back in touch with people I hadn’t spoken to in 30 years.” |
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Publication date: September 29, 2000
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